Pallot was born in London, but spent most of her childhood on the island of Jersey. Her mother is from India, whilst her father is native born from Jersey. Early in life, she spent some time living in India, but spent most of her early school years in Jersey. From there she won a scholarship to Wellington College, a famous military public school in England. Her time at this school provides much of the personal inspiration behind her single Everybody’s Gone to War as several of her school friends were directly involved in the Iraq war.
Nerina Pallot is classically trained in singing and piano, and then engaged in a peripatetic career around the fringes of the music industry. Outside these various industry-related jobs, Nerina Pallot was an active part-time musician with an ambition to follow a career in performing and song writing. At some point her career took her to her favourite job of this time, as PA to the music industry executive Andrew King; a key figure in the management of Pink Floyd from its earliest days. Still following her ambition to pursue a musical career, Pallot signed to Polydor in her mid-20s, despite misgivings from Andrew King. This signing resulted in the release of an album containing self-penned songs; the ironically titled Dear Frustrated Superstar (2001). However, singles released from this album failed to make a sales mark as did the album. Following this, Nerina Pallot was dropped by Polydor among some bitter recriminations which are documented on her web site. This experience was later to lead to the writing of Mr. King, a touching, and very probably unique tribute to a senior music industry executive.
Following this episode, Nerina Pallot returned to University to study English with a partially formed plan to become an English teacher. However, during her studies she rekindled a love of lyrical English and started to write again. The song Idaho came from this period, using the state as a metaphor for the place where she wanted to actively steer her life, rather than just letting it drift. Idaho, Mr. King, and Everybody’s Gone to War became three of the tracks that made up her second album Fires. This was, in part, financed by money from her publishers, Chrysalis, who had remained faithful, and partly through re-mortgaging her home. As important was the extensive good-will and contacts that she could call upon within the industry in both London and Los Angeles. The eventual album was released under her own label Idaho which, despite rave reviews, failed to make significant sales headway. This, and subsequent activities, lead to an early termination of her degree course, but she has expressed a desire to complete it.
Nerina Pallot persisted by extensively touring the country, and sometimes Europe, supporting acts such as Missy Higgins, Sheryl Crow, James Blunt, Suzanne Vega, Joseph Arthur, and Ray LaMontagne. This, and a very active and acerbic presence on MySpace resulted in a considerable word-of-mouth following. Typical of many of her contemporary artists in the Internet world, she is strongly supported by a group of dedicated fans, connected via so-called social networking sites. Nerina Pallot also benefits from support within influential parts of the media including the BBC.
Eventually this activity and support resulted in Nerina Pallot being signed to the Warner label 14th Floor who specialise in promoting acts with a partially established following. Fires received a slight makeover, and was re-released under the 14th Floor label. Everybody’s Gone to War was released as a single with a video filmed in a Los Angeles supermarket in the style of a Hollywood war film, save being staged as a “food-fight”. A second single, a remixed Sophia, was released in early October 2006. Learning to Breathe is to be released in early 2007 as the third single under the 14th Floor label.
During the summer of 2006 Nerina appeared at many music festivals, promotional and charity events. For the autumn months she is touring intensively in the UK and Europe as a headline act.
During her early 2007 tour of the UK and Ireland, Nerina Pallot reprised several songs from her Dear Frustrated Superstar period, possibly marking a coming to terms with a dark period in her career.
In 2007 Nerina Pallot was nominated for a Brit Award in the Best British Female category won by Amy Winehouse. Such was the unexpected nature of this nomination to her, that she had already set the date, St. Valentine’s day 2007 for her marriage to the music video producer Andrew Chatterley, both briefly leaving the reception in London for the award show.
Nerina Pallot released her third studio album "The Graduate" in 2009, on her own label. Nerina worked with many writers for the album but when it came down to the final tracklist only Pallot written material has made the cut. She wrote in her blog that she had approximately 60 viable songs. The album title refers to Pallot's 2009 graduation from university with a first-class honours English Literature degree.
Nerina Pallot and her husband Andy Chatterly wrote the title track and third single, "Better Than Today" from Kylie Minogue's 2010 studio album, "Aphrodite". Pallot signed with Geffon Records and released "Year Of The Wolf" in 2011. The album's title comes from her son, Wolfie, with whom she was pregnant during the recording of the album. Lead single "Put Your Hands Up" was originally written for Kylie Minogue.
Halfway Home
Nerina Pallot Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's a wonder that I'm standing on my own two feet.
In the shadow of a thousand veiled Victorian goodbyes
Jewels of litter come to greet me, and it stings my eyes.
Oh it burns like a fire and it pulls me through-
We are parted by desire for the strange and new.
I've got a quarter in my pocket, I'm advancing to the booth,
I am picking up and praying that I talk to you.
And now, I'm halfway home, I'm at the corner of our street,
Would you like to come and meet me?
Now that I am halfway home
Man, I never felt so lonely-
I long for you to hold me now I'm home.
Somedays, there was comfort as a stranger far from home
Sometimes, a hunger and a longing not to be alone.
Imagining emotion in each man that I would meet-
But it was physics, and subtraction, to an ancient beat.
Oh, it burned like a fire and I wore it so...
We are tied up in desire and we won't let go.
Well, I've no quarter in my pocket of no apple left to eat;
I am running, I am running and I can't feel my feet.
And now, I'm halfway home, I'm at the corner of our street,
Would you like to come and meet me?
Now that I'm halfway home
Man, I never felt so lonely-
I long for you to hold me now I'm home
Now I'm home, home is where I wanna be,
Now I'm home, home is where I'm gonna be.
Past the church and past the steeple,
Past the sad and lonely people,
Past the old school on the avenue,
I am running, I am running...
And now, I'm halfway home, I'm at the corner of our street,
Would you like to co9me and meet me
Now that I'm halfway home
Man, I never felt so lonely-
I long for you to hold me now I'm home.
The song "Halfway Home" by Nerina Pallot is about a person who is wandering and searching for someone to connect with emotionally. The lyrics are full of metaphors that describe the feeling of loneliness and the search for a person who can help the singer feel at home. The first verse describes the singer's physical state: he/she has a quarter in his/her pocket and half an apple left to eat. Despite feeling physically weak, the singer stands on his/her own two feet. The second line "It's a wonder that I'm standing on my own two feet" may indicate that the singer is emotionally unstable after the loss of a relationship or the change of location. The singer walks through the city streets and sees the shadows of the goodbyes and memories of the past. Jewel litter hurts his/her eyes and represents the pain of the past.
In the chorus, the singer says that he/she is halfway home but still feels lonely. This line suggests that the singer has not found his/her home and is still searching for it. The second verse speaks about how the singer had a few days of comfort and some days of hunger and longing. The singer finds comfort in imagining that he/she would have an emotional connection with the people he/she encounters but ultimately finds physics and subtraction. The third verse talks about the singer's current situation. The singer is running with no quarter or an apple in his/her pocket. This line represents his/her physical and emotional exhaustion. In the end, the singer reaches the corner of the street and longs for his/her home.
Overall, the song "Halfway Home" by Nerina Pallot is a poignant portrayal of a person's emotional state. The lyrics are full of clever metaphors that connect the feeling of loneliness with physical pain.
Line by Line Meaning
I've got a quarter in my pocket of an apple left to eat:
I'm broke and hungry, living off scraps.
It's a wonder that I'm standing on my own two feet.
I'm tired and barely making it, but somehow still surviving.
In the shadow of a thousand veiled Victorian goodbyes
I'm surrounded by memories of those who left before me.
Jewels of litter come to greet me, and it stings my eyes.
I'm confronted by the harsh reality of my surroundings.
Oh it burns like a fire and it pulls me through-
It's painful, but it propels me forward.
We are parted by desire for the strange and new.
My curiosity and thirst for adventure keeps me moving.
I've got a quarter in my pocket, I'm advancing to the booth,
I'm attempting to make a call with what little money I have left.
I am picking up and praying that I talk to you.
I'm desperately trying to reach someone for comfort.
And now, I'm halfway home, I'm at the corner of our street,
I'm getting closer to the person and place where I feel safe.
Would you like to come and meet me?
Can we be reunited?
Man, I never felt so lonely-
Despite being closer to home, my loneliness is overwhelming.
I long for you to hold me now I'm home.
All I want is to be comforted in the embrace of a loved one.
Sometimes, a hunger and a longing not to be alone.
I crave human connection and intimacy.
Imagining emotion in each man that I would meet-
I try to find meaning and depth in every encounter.
But it was physics, and subtraction, to an ancient beat.
In reality, it's just basic human interaction and routine.
Well, I've no quarter in my pocket of no apple left to eat;
I'm completely out of resources.
I am running, I am running and I can't feel my feet.
I'm pushing myself to the limit to get home, despite being exhausted.
Now I'm home, home is where I wanna be,
Finally, I'm where I belong.
Past the church and past the steeple,
I'm taking in my surroundings, happy to be back.
Past the sad and lonely people,
Despite the sadness around me, I feel comforted to be home.
Past the old school on the avenue,
I'm reminiscing about the past, but happy to be in the present.
Would you like to come and meet me
Can we finally be together and put this loneliness behind us?
Man, I never felt so lonely-
Despite being closer to home, my loneliness is still overwhelming.
I long for you to hold me now I'm home.
All I want is to be comforted in the embrace of a loved one.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Nerina Pallot
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind